EXHIBIT (c) 99

SIZELER PROPERTY INVESTORS,INC.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            [LOGO OF SIZELER PROPERTY INVESTORS,INC. APPEARS HERE]

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For additional information, contact:
Thomas A. Masilla, Jr.
Vice Chairman and President
504/471-6200

(BW) (SIZELER-PROPERTY) (SIZ) Sizeler Property Investors, Inc. Declares Dividend

        Business Editors

        NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 6, 1998-- Sizeler Property Investors,
Inc. (NYSE:SIZ), an equity real estate investment trust (REIT), which invests in
retail center and apartment properties in the southern United States, announced 
today that its Board of Directors has declared a $0.22 per share dividend, 
payable on September 3, 1998, to shareholders of record on August 27, 1998.

        The Board of Directors today also adopted a replacement shareholder 
rights plan for the original shareholder rights plan in effect since May 19, 
1989, declaring a distribution of one preferred stock purchase right for each 
outstanding share of common stock of the Company, $0.01 par value. The rights 
will be distributed to shareholders of record at the close of business on August
27, 1998. Separate rights certificates will not be issued upon the adoption of 
the plan. Initially, the existing common stock certificates will also represent 
the preferred stock purchase rights.

        The replacement rights plan is intended to assure that, in the event 
that a proposal was presented which contemplated a sale of the Company, the 
Board of Directors would have adequate opportunity to evaluate such a proposal 
and to make decisions which it deemed to be in the best interests of the 
shareholders and protective of their investment value. The Board of Directors is
not now aware of any such proposal.

        In connection with the adoption of the replacement rights plan, the 
Board of Directors today also approved and ordered the redemption of the rights 
outstanding under the original shareholder rights plan adopted in 1989. Holders 
of record of the Company's common stock at the close of business on August 27, 
1998, will receive $0.01 for each right being redeemed. The redemption payment 
will be paid with the regular quarterly dividend payable on September 3, 1998.

        Sizeler Property Investors, Inc. owns 29 properties, consisting of three
enclosed regional shopping malls, two power shopping centers, eleven community
shopping centers, and thirteen apartment communities. The properties are located
in Alabama (4), Florida (9), Louisiana (15), and Texas (1). Total leasable area
of the retail centers is approximately 2.7 million s.f., and the apartment
properties consist of approximately 3,200 units.

        Sizeler Property Investors, Inc.'s common stock (SIZ) and convertible 
subordinated debentures, due 2003 (SIZ 03), are traded on the New York Stock 
Exchange (NYSE).


      2542 WILLIAMS BOULEVARD . KENNER, LOUISIANA 70062 . (504) 471-6200